Abakuraku
by Lala to the power of 2
Summary: Sometimes, when fate deals you a chancey hand, the only way to find happiness is to take a little gamble. KabuShizu, with a little SasukexSakon and UkonxKimimaro. Don't ask why. Just don't ask.
1. Tea For Two

Abakuraku. Located roughly near the center of the five great Shinobi countries, it has the largest shopping arcade on the continent. This, along with its independence from any shinobi country and the luxurious onsen scattered about, has made it an extremely popular vacationing spot.

Shizune was there because she had two years worth of vacation days to waste, and no better time to use them then when she was one Tsunade-Hangover away from a total mental breakdown.

Unfortunately, being rather the serious type, she had no idea what to do with her time. She had already looked into every souvenir shop in the city, and, after years tailing the woman who would become Godaime, wouldn't step foot into a bar or gambling parlor for all the dango in the world.

At roughly three in the afternoon of her third day in Abakuraku, she was wandering through the restaurant district in search of a nice place to have lunch- all of the places she'd been to any classier than a ramen stand had the understandable rule No Pets Allowed, and Tonton had made it clear that not only was she as tired of the irresponsible hokage as Shizune, but moreover, that she didn't want to spend the whole damned vacation locked in a three-star motel room.

Disinterest was setting in when the Medic-Pig duo finally found an area heavily populated by Outdoor Cafés.

She was passing one La Bol de Lait, when she paused for a moment- someone had passively caught her eye, much in the same manner as one goes 'Wait, was that Tom Seleck?' or 'Hey, didn't I know that guy in high school?' When she looked back, however, she stopped dead in her tracks.

_Oh shit._

His thoughts went roughly along the same line.

Kabuto had been minding his own business, taking a coffee break during a low-matinence mission (read: pointless errand), when, while looking around, he saw someone whom he had the vague sensation he should recognize.

Upon taking a closer look, he made eye contact with her and they both instantly froze.

Distance from eachother: approximately 12 yards.

Their first instinct: attack.

The first problem: the outcome of a ninja fight usually depends on the quick draw.

She was holding a pig.

He was holding a teacup. And, due to local law, his weapons were, stupidly enough, located in the bag on his back.

But she didn't know that. Meaning that if he were to try and retrieve a projectile, or even reach under the table, she would drop the pig and shoot poisonous needles from the damnable contraption on her arm.

Except that she, not knowing that the closest thing he had to a weapon on hand was a teaspoon, would not attack- dropping a pig and reaching under your sleeve might take more time than he would, and she would die.

For a long while, neither moved.

Then one remembered something, and their eyes slowly moved to a nearby sign. Seeing this action, the other's eyes followed.

NOTICE:

Shinobi Not Permitted.

Any persons seen carrying a weapon, for self defense or otherwise, will be immediately arrested.

Any persons engaged in combat, mortal or friendly will be immediately detained.

Any resistance permits local authorities to kill suspect on sight.

Thank You For Your Cooperation.

Ah, of course. Due to Abakuraku's conveniently centralized location, people from most all countries have been coming to the city to shop and vacation for ages. Unfortunately, these people include ninjas, and when one saw another from an enemy village, they had a tendency to attack. The frequency of a Leaf ninja seeing a Cloud Nin, or a Grass ninja seeing someone from Stone, or A Mist Nin seeing… Well, anyone; or any other combination of encounters between warring states was taking a toll on the city's popularity. No one wants to vacation somewhere where a ninja battle is more likely there than in a ninja village, after all.

So, seeing as Abakuraku's revenue depended almost entirely on tourism, they needed to stop the ninja fights. And thus, the law was passed without hesitation.

So basically, this meant that even if Kabuto or Shizune had wanted to fight, which neither really did at that point, they couldn't. Abakuraku's Police Force was on par with an ANBU squad, after all, and getting arrested wasn't really on the top of their lists of things to do.

There was more awkward silence, before Kabuto decided that there was really only one way to make the situation any less comfortable, so heck, might as well go for the record, right?

He gestured to the seat across from his own at the small table amiably, and made the genial offer. "Tea?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. He had already decided he probably was.

After a period, Shizune decided that she was going to sit down because she wanted to appease the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer', and not because tea sounded really good right then.

During the entire ordeal, and the process of Shizune sitting down, the two never ceased eye contact for a moment, and refused to do so even afterward, so they were almost surprised when a waiter came to take orders.

"Welcome to La Bol De Lait, how may I help you?"

Shizune didn't show her surprise; instead, she stated her order in a crisp, businesslike tone "Small Chai. What do you have for cake?"

"Well, we have a special on cheesecake-"

"Great. One of those, then. Small. Thank you."

The waiter looked at the young pair at the table before him. No breach of eye contact. He shook his head, and walked away, muttering to himself on the way out. "Damned ninjas. Always paranoid."

After a while of discomfort and suspicion, the two finally decided that enemy or not, it would be nice to relax for at least a little while. Eventually they were even able to carry on a conversation, and they found it was actually fairly easy to open up be themselves around each other- most likely a consequence of not giving a damn what thew other thought of them.

"I don't know. Things were bad enough before, but as soon as Sakura came around it was like the old bat completely forgot she was supposed to still be teaching me. I went from her student to her assistant, and now I've been reduced to her damned servant!"

"I think I know how you feel. I started out as Orochimaru-sama's spy, and then when I left Konoha his doctor. But, being one of the few people he has any faith in whatsoever, I ended up doing practically everything for him. Except that from the minute that Sasuke kid showed up it seems like all I've been doing is petty errands."

Kabuto scoffed to himself and made a contemptuous face. "Do you know what I'm in town for right now?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Shampoo. Orochimaru sent us to get shampoo. Apparently, Otogakure doesn't carry his brand, so we were sent here."

Shizune burst out laughing, and Kabuto couldn't help but smile. "You were sent on a shampoo run? That's absolutely pathetic!"

Kabuto nodded, still smiling, when they were interrupted.

"What the hell? Are you on a date or something?"

The two looked up at the dark-haired newcomer, and any trace of comfort in the atmosphere immediately returned to its original state of tense suspicion.

Kabuto took his time in answering, choosing his words carefully.

"…Yes."

Tonton, though a pig, could still feel the tension in the air. She noted that all three of the humans' eyes were darting quickly between themselves, and, deciding that this was just a bit too much for her, squealed and ducked under the table.

The sudden burst of sound drew the young newcomer's attention to Shizune. Dark eyes scanned her thoughtfully for a moment, before the question came. "Have we… met?"

Shizune took her time in answering, choosing her words carefully.

"…No."

He looked at her again. "Hn. Whatever." Then why did she look familiar? Must have been the pig. His attention returned to Kabuto. "I've got the item, now let's just get the hell out of here."

Kabuto nodded slowly and stood up. He turned to Shizune and gave her a genuine-looking smile, as though there was nothing awkward about their meeting. "Well then, see you around," and with as jaunty wave, the two left.

Once she was sure they were gone, Shizune heaved a heavy sigh. She looked at the table she was sitting at as though it were important, and Tonton reemerged from her hiding place.

Then Shizune's brows furrowed angrily, "Shit! That little prick stuck me with the bill!"

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Well, that's chapter one. I probably just should have just said that it was Sasuke at the table, though, huh? I just didn't know how to do it without it being awkward, so I pretended I wanted it to be vague. It ended up just being confusing. Shit. Oh, and I have no idea when chapter two will be out, sorry to say. I'm sort of still in the writing process. In fact, it didn't even occur to me until just this instant, but I'm gonna need an ending, aren't I?


	2. Picking Up the Pieces

Note: This is a mini-chapter that would serve as a prologue if this plotline was part of a separate story, like it probably should be. Unfortunately, due my laziness and the fact that the only way I'll ever get anything done is to combine the two stories into one, this chapter is just sort of… sitting there awkwardly. Enjoy the post-chapter one demi-prologue.

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Kabuto leaped between the trees stealthily. He was fairly certain all of the leaf ninjas who had come to retrieve the retrieval team were gone, but one could really never be to certain.

He had been out there for what felt like hours, but was probably only twenty minutes, searching. One by one, following several trails of blood, he had found the Sound Five. Well, their remains, anyway.

"Sir, I've found them,"

The radio clacked and buzzed with Orochimaru's reply "Well?"

"They're dead sir."

"All of them?"

"Not quite; Jiroubou is still alive, barely, and Kidoumaru will die within a few minutes."

A brief pause. "Heal them."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Heal them. And bring the bodies of the others back, as well. There's something I've been wanting to try out for a while…"

And the small radio buzzed off, the echo of Orochimaru's laughter still ringing in Kabuto's ears.

----

The 'something', it turned out, was a new resurrection technique, interestingly enough; one in which the previous one could be permeated through use of the original bodies of those being revived, and through a constant outside source of chakra to keep bloodflow and heartbeat moving- namely in the form of a new curse seal, developed especially for the situation.

The technique, however useful, was still obviously imperfect. Firstly, if the formerly departed were to run out of chakra, they're circulatory systems would cease to function and they would, once again, die. This translates to 'no more battles to the death', which translates into 'no more being a ninja', making their presence all but useless except for experimentation.

But moreover was the fact that the technique could not repair damage of any level of permanence; meaning that Kimimaro was still horribly diseased (although death had, conveniently enough, turned it from something so debilitating he was reduced to an invalid into a semi-debilitating nuisance consisting primarily of anemia due to constantly coughing and throwing up blood.) And Tayuya, after being crushed under a tree, was paralyzed from the waist down despite best medical efforts to remedy her.

Sakon and Ukon were effected a tad differently; they were forced into a state of permanent separation- since chakra was responsible for the circulation of blood, it was practically being done manually. That meant that were the twins to try joining into one body, the chakra keeping them alive would be mixed in an uncontrollable manner and the two would die.

Other than those obvious problems, however, they seemed quite alive and well, save for a severely reduced ability to heal naturally. All in all, the process needed to be refined before practical use, though. For now all the Sound Five were good for was training new recruits and taking up space.

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That would be the end of the demi-prologue. We probably won't be getting back to the Sound Five until chapter four, unfortunately. That paired with the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing earns everyone an apology. This is sort of the first time I've ever attempted a novella, and it probably won't even be long enough to earn the title of one. Shit. I'm really in over my head, huh?


	3. Memories

It was raining, back then. On that fateful night, almost ten years ago; the night Tsunade decided she had finally had enough.

He had caught her on her way out of town, and the instant he saw his teammate- no, former teammate, now- he had known she was leaving.

The rain matted her bangs to her forehead- it was an odd feeling, after wearing her hitae-ate for so long. She didn't have to look back to see who was behind her.

"There's nothing you can say, Jiraiya. I'm going."

He regarded her carefully, a faint look of sorrow in his eyes. "I know that much. But I'm going to say what I have to anyway, even if it doesn't make any difference in the end."

She turned around to face him. When she looked, it was as though she was seeing him for the first time again. The only thing she could think was that years were catching up to him.

"I just need to ask why. Why you're leaving- abandoning your village. Like _he _did." There was no need to ask who '_he_' was. They both knew, and it saddened the aging medic to compared to the final member of their trio.

"Honestly, Jiraiya, I'm not even sure. All I know is I can't stay here any longer. The war is over, I'm not needed anymore, anyway."

"The latest war. There will be another. You'll be needed again."

"I know. That's probably why I'm going. I've done all I can, and if I try to do any more I'll just go crazy." She looked down at the ground, no longer able to look her former teammate in the eye. "I just… I can't take it anymore. I try and I try, and in the end I can't do anything! I'm tired, and I'm getting old. Too old. I'm lucky to have lived for this long as it is. And I know that if I tried to retire normally, they'd try to pull me out next time they have any use for me." She looked up, meeting his once again. "I can't take any more of this, Jiraiya. I'm done."

They remained like that for a while; just staring at each other as the rain pelted down. Then, slowly, he nodded. She turned around and walked away.

"Tsunade-san! Wait!"

She didn't stop. She continued walking, as though she had never heard her name being called at all, before the owner of the voice cut in front of her.

"Please, Tsunade-san! At least listen to me!"

Said woman regarded to young woman in front of her thoughtfully. Short dark hair was plastered to her face from the rain, and there was a sharp look in her dark eyes that was vaguely familiar. Tsunade remembered seeing her around, and even giving her a little bit of training when she was heading the units that trained new medics. Still, she felt like there was something she was missing about her…

"Ah. I recognize you, now. You're Dan's little niece, aren't you?"

The girl's face brightened, and she nodded eagerly. "Yes; Shizune."

Tsunade's face softened into a kind, if sad, smile. "I'm not going back there, you know."

The young one hesitated. "Then…Then at least take me with you!"

The older woman's surprise was evident. The only reply she gave was to close her eyes, and shake her head; the same kind, sad smile still on her face.

And then she was gone.

"Tsunade-san! Tsunade-san!"

------------

Three years had passes since Tsunade had left, and she was currently flat ass broke, sitting at a table in the middle of a poorly lit low-class bar.

She sighed. She would have to get out of town soon, she had borrowed a lot of money, and the loan sharks would be on her tail pretty soon. Damned casino was rigged, that was for _certain_. There's no way she would have lost with that hand otherwise! And she had thought her luck was finally turning around, too.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a group of three men who had just appeared and were now standing around her.

_Shit, _she thought. _Should have left town a little sooner._

"Say, there, ma'am, I believe you owe our family a bit of money; I don't suppose you could return it?"

Tsunade thought carefully. Right now, her options were limited, weren't they? Maybe she could play dumb and hope they think they've got her mistaken…

"Money? I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

The oldest of the men, the one who had addressed her earlier, looked at her before smirking knowingly. "I see. Well, if you don't have the money we could think of _other _forms of payment…"

Oh, shit. Playing dumb wasn't working, and she couldn't flee at this point- not only was she surrounded,

But the bar was so crowded she wouldn't be able to wade her way out of there fast enough before they caught up to her. Maybe she could just take the easy way out and kick their asses in the guise of a bar fight, but then she would probably get arrested…

"Perhaps we could step outside, ma'am?"

Right as she was about to take her chances with pummeling them into oblivion, she was saved by a vaguely familiar voice.

"Aunt Marie? Oh, there you are, Auntie! I've been looking all over for you, what are you doing in a place like this?" Instantly four pairs of eyes shot to the woman who had just approached the table. "Eh? Who are these people, Auntie? Are they bothering you?"

"Excuse me ma'am, we were just finishing a little bit of business with your Aunt, we'll be put of here as soon as we get the money she owes us."

The short-haired woman looked surprised, before tuning to Tsunade with a stern look. "Aunt Marie! What on earth happened? How do you owe these people money?"

Tsunade was no fool. This girl was offering her a way out, and she knew how to take it. She put a hand to the side of her face in a gesture of distress. "Eh, I don't know! I don't remember anything about money, but you know how my memories failing me…"

The younger woman turned back to the three loan sharks. "Perhaps you have my aunt mistaken for someone? She obviously has no idea what you're talking about…"

The three men looked at each other, then Tsunade, before turning to each other and mumbling amongst themselves. "Boss Tanaka _did_ say she was traveling alone…"

They looked back at the medic. Suddenly, the young twenty-something they had been given a description of looked old, and dazed; maybe they had been wrong…? The lights in the bar were incredibly poor; it wasn't so hard to get confused…

"Ah, We're sorry, madams, perhaps you were right, I think we might have the wrong person, after all. Terribly sorry for the trouble."

Tsunade's face brightened with a breezy smile, "Well, I do hope you boys find who you're looking for."

"Come one, Auntie. Let's go back to the hotel now, alright?"

"Alright, dear, I'm coming…"

When they had gotten out of the bar into the dank streets, Tsunade turned to her 'savior'.

"Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to come along with me, Shizune?"

The younger woman smiled. "It'd be an honor, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade gave a teasing frown. "Now, if you intend to follow me around like I think you will, you had best be calling me Tsunade-sama."

If anything, Shizune's smile widened. "Of course, Tsunade-sama."

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Seven years ago, when Kabuto was fourteen and Shizune was twenty-three, they had been in the same medical unit. It hadn't been for very long; only around two or three months, and the two had only had a few conversations during that time. Despite their limited interaction, however, they had gotten along well.

"You know, I don't see why you haven't taken the Chuunin exams yet, Kabuto- With your skills, I'm sure you could pass easily."

It was a warm spring day, and they had taken a break from training for lunch. They weren't quite sure how or why exactly, but they had for some reason ended up eating together.

He looked up at her with mild surprise- the comment seemed to have come out of nowhere; but he smiled and thought for a moment to find just thew right way to say what he was trying to communicate.

"Well, I guess I don't think it's quite time for me to be a chuunin, that's all. It's a lot of responsibility, and right now I'd like to focus on my medical training."

Shizune nodded in understanding. She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. It was strange, really. Sometimes it was easy to forget he was only fourteen, but at other times it was hard to remember he was anything else. It was especially odd, how he could disarm so easily with that smile of his.

"I suppose I can see your point, but you know sometimes the harder missions can be better training than just studying."

His smile brightened, and took on an almost secretive air. "I suppose so. But I have until July to think about it, so I'm not really going to concern myself about it for now."

When she saw that smile of his, he had the strange feeling that the conversation would go no further, even should she try to purse. She returned to her lunch.

Not long after, the last of Shizune's family died, and she left to find the closest thing she had to a family member- her late uncle's fiancée, and the person she respected more than any other; Tsunade.

Kabuto had always figured it was coincidence that it was at that same time that he decided to take up the offer to become a spy he had been given.

Shizune had forgotten. After all, how could she remember someone she only knew for a few month seven years ago, especially since so much had happened since then?

Kabuto had not forgotten. He just thought it best to pretend they had never before met, especially since she herself didn't remember. It was practically insignificant, right?

He attributed his sudden recollection to having had such an uneventful week, and thought no more of her. For a little while, anyway.

---------------------------------

Um, I know that the first part of the chapter revolving around Tsunade was a bit awkward, especially because we won't really be seeing her again, but the rest of Shizune's back story was supposed to have flowed a little more smoothly than it did. Plus it was especially awkward how the two different parts were sort of… smashed together, but there was no other place for the Kabuto/Shizune part to go, and it wasn't long enough to be a chapter on its own, so…  
I apologize. I am a failure as a writer, and as a human being.


	4. Adjustments

The permanent separation of Sakon and Ukon was something that needed to be adjusted to. For one, now everyone had to remember which one of the twins was which- this was much easier when they shared a body, but now that they were two people, they needed to be differentiated.

Ukon wasn't taking this well. Wearing the coat he had stolen from Kiba wasn't a choice of style as much as it was a way to make sure nobody had an excuse to call him Sakon again. This, paired with the fact that the twins did, in fact, have different personalities, worked well enough to stop getting them confused.

This Sakon wasn't taking well. Though he didn't seem it, he was actually quite clingy and possessive, and Ukon's newfound independence left the younger brother feeling empty.

On the other hand, he would find a _lovely _way to fill the void.

…

Sasuke realized he was gay when he was still attracted to Sakon and Ukon after finding out their true gender. At first he thought this was a sentiment to how girly they were, but after thinking about it for a while he realized that this wasn't necessarily the case.

Either way, he decided this was all well and good- the problem was the severe attraction to one (and a half?) member(s?) of the Sound Five. Particularly the one with the necklace. Which one was he? Sakon? Yeah, definitely Sakon. The other one, the one wearing the coat he recognized as belonging to Kiba (why _he _had it Sasuke wasn't certain), Sasuke had noticed was a bit more brash and outlandish. He didn't like that about him. It reminded him of someone he didn't want to think about.

So, now that he was decidedly attracted to one particular person, what was he to do about it?

Sasuke opted for blatant flirtation.

To this, Sakon was at first confused, then startled, and at last, very, _very _pleased.

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You know what this is? This is an inter-chapter, is what this is. Next time we meet the Sound ninjas I'll have an actual, full-length chapter, complete with dialogue. Forgive me for not thinking of a better way to lay the groundwork for something resembling plot. It'll get better, I swear.


	5. Accidents

Wow, it's been a while, eh? Bet you'd thought I'd abandoned you, didn't 'cha? But I didn't! I just fell out of the fandom and was thusly only working on this when I really felt like writing! Here we go now!

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Abakuraku's Fourth Street was an outdoor market. As far as the eye could see, the walls were lined with stands and kiosks, selling everything from live ducks to eggs, pineapples to sunflower seeds.

Currently, Shizune was trying to find an adequately ripe tomato from a fruit stand. She was holding one of the pieces of overripe produce, when she sensed something.

Sensing a large chakra signal wasn't an unusual thing- she had been identifying vacationing ninjas since she got to Abakuraku; but there was something about this particular time that was different. This chakra signal was larger than normal, and vaguely familiar…

She looked up from the tomatoes, and instantly the same thing went through two heads simultaneously.

_Crap, not again._

For, when she looked up, she saw none other than a mildly surprised Kabuto holding a bag of groceries.

Once again, the two were instantly on edge, and time seemed to freeze.

The air itself seemed to tense up, and the business of the surrounding marketplace went unnoticed. The two ninja were on full-guard now, prepared to attack at the slightest notice.

Suddenly, it happened. A crash resounded, and fruit flew everywhere.

The hair-trigger guards of the ninjas were set off, and the two medics moved- grocery bag dropped and tomato abandoned; Kabuto and Shizune were in a face off. Kunai in the hand of one, fingers laced through the triggers on the arm of the other, and the two paused once more.

Shizune was contemplating her next course of action, when suddenly and without warning, she felt herself being grabbed from behind.

"What the Hell?"

Across from her, an equally surprised Kabuto was being restrained by a stocky man with burn scars on his arms, and behind her a woman's voice rang at her.

"Shinobi battles are strictly prohibited, ma'am, you're going to have to come with us."

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The calm gray lighting of the police station did nothing to help the atmosphere.

Kabuto and Shizune sat on opposite ends of the holding room, with a tall, heavyset woman guarding them from her seat between the two; and other than that, the room was empty.

Kabuto idly admired the way the lights glinted off of his chakra-sealed handcuffs, and wondered how long it would be until it was decided what was to be done with them.

"Well, this is a fine mess." Shizune was the one to break the silence at last, though she was still staring awkwardly at her lap. "This isn't exactly how I had intended to spend my vacation, you know?"

Kabuto nodded. "I understand what you mean." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then added almost to himself "I rather wish I hadn't dropped those groceries, now I'll have to do that shopping all over again."

Shizune gave a low, unenthusiastic chuckle. "If we even get out of here, you mean."

"Now, you oughtn't to be so pessimistic, Shizune. I'm sure they won't keep us her for very long."

She chose to ignore him. "Oh, man, what am I gonna do? What will Tsunade-sama say when she hears about _this_?"

"Oh, dear. Come to think of it, I do hope Orochimaru-sama doesn't notice how long I've been out… He can be quite frightening when he's angry, you know. "

Shizune smirked. "Being evil ain't all it's cracked up to be, huh?"

He looked insulted. "Excuse me, but I'm not actually evil; I'm just heartless. There is a difference."

Shizune gave him a smile of mild interest. "Oh?"

"Yes. While I do occasionally enjoy seeing others' pain, I don't actually _mean_ harm to anybody. In fact, what I'm after could even be thought of as… Well, noble."

"Noble?" Shizune scoffed incredulously. "Where the fuck is the nobility in being Orochimaru's bitch?"

His smile, amazingly enough, didn't falter. "Ah, that's where you're mistaken, being a lackey is just an unpleasant side note to reaching my goal." Kabuto regarded her carefully, before giving her an infuriating smirk. "Would you like to know what that goal is?"

"Will I regret knowing?"

"Possibly, but I rather doubt it."

When Shizune simply looked thoughtful rather than giving an actual response, the young Yakushi took that as a go-ahead. "The reason I'm working under Orochimaru is the because he's looking for immortality."

Shizune choked a little. "W-what? Why on earth would you want to be immortal?"

He looked at her with an almost surprised expression. "Be immortal? You misunderstand entirely. I think that the idea itself is a terrible one. What I want is to _find_ immortality- not have it."

"The difference being?"

"It's not about living forever, it's about doing what's scientifically impossible! The immortality itself is practically incidental, I just want to FIND it! As it is, Orochimaru is the only one looking for it, and therefore the only one who can fund my research. This is very important to me."

Shizune looked dumbstruck. She shook her head, "I can't believe this, the only reason you're the right hand of evil incarnate is for the sake of science? That's insane! There are plenty of other places to research, you know!"

"Not where I can research immortality. And besides, It's not like my life is hell on earth. Being evil has its perks. I get all of the dead bodies I could possibly need on hand, for example."

Shizune was at a total loss for words. A brief silence fell, until suddenly, she burst out laughing.

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Meanwhile, inside a small office on the far side of the room, the pair's fate was contemplated.

"Look, we really don't have the room to hold them just for disorderly conduct, ya know?"

Another nodded. "It's true; the holding cells are all full up already."

The lithe woman who had arrested Shizune added in. "Well, technically, they weren't even actually fighting, were they? They were just… _Going_ to…."

The first man shook his head. "The rules are strict. Look, if they were _going_ to fight, who's to say they wouldn't when we let them out of here? It's too risky at this point."

Another was looking out the window of the small office, into the next room. "I dunno, they seem to be getting along okay to me…"

Everyone turned to watch the pair converse through the thick glass, before the lithe woman added in "Ya know, I think I saw those two the other day, actually."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"They were having lunch. I remember 'cuz I was keeping an eye on them, since they weren't exactly hiding the fact that they were ninjas real well, ya know?"

"Hmm." The first man suddenly swung the door open. "Fujisaki! What do you think?"

The borderline-obese woman between Kabuto and Shizune didn't even look up from the newspaper she was holding as she gave the curt but loud reply, "Freaks."

The man nodded and closed the door again. "Usually she just says something like 'Off with their heads!'." He paused. "I think it's probably alright in this case."

The other two nodded, and the room emptied.

"Alright you two, you're free to go for now, but I don't wanna see anymore trouble from the two of you."

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Once outside, the almost suddenly handcuff-free pair enjoyed the fresh air.

Shizune turned to Kabuto with a smile. "You know, last time you stuck me with the bill. I think you owe me lunch."


End file.
